


Pink and Red

by koiffish



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Choni - freeform, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-28 06:15:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13898028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koiffish/pseuds/koiffish
Summary: Cheryl and Toni met in a very unexpected way.





	1. Pink Cuffs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ryebread1105](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryebread1105/gifts).



> This is a gift to Ryebread1105 because the first Choni I wrote was not a happy one. Sorry ;)  
> Enjoy! ^_^

Cheryl drowsily stared at the muted meter-wide TV she has in her room, illuminating the whole space with bland colors of every passing scene on the giant monitor. Image after image was displayed before her but none of them registered in her brain.

She was so tired.

It was a long day and she’s more than ready to get some rest, but her insensitive brain decided that this ungodly hour was the right time to be stay up and contemplate the complexity of life.

A moderate rain pattered rhythmically outside, droplets of water ran down her window glasses and occasional streaks of lightning flashed on the horizon closely followed by rumbles of thunder that shattered the silence of the night. The warmth of the blanket covering her shoulders was very comforting against the cold weather. And with her already heavy lids, one more blink was usually all she needed before drifting off to nothingness.

The TV suddenly sparked out, as well as the streetlights outside, even the nightlight plugged into the wall.

“God…” Cheryl groaned sleepily, not really caring about the power outage, just complaining for the sake of complaining.

She opted to lay down the couch to wait for sleep instead of walking to her bed which was just a few meters away because, well, she’s just too lazy and tired. And it’s her house, y’all, she can do whatever she wanted.

Cheryl was at her twenty-first sheep when she heard a dull thudding sound against her wooden floors. She raised her head and quickly thought about the possible factors that could have contributed to that sound.

First off, her dog was spending the night at the vet. Second, she did not own a cat. Third, there’s no other person in the house at the moment except for her. So unless something fell off the shelf without the help of outside forces – winds and such – her brand new house was suddenly haunted.

_Or maybe a burglar?_

Cheryl’s body fully awakened as she kicked off her blanket and tiptoed as silently as she could out of her room. Her hallways were all illuminated by the bright emergency lights so she didn’t have the advantage of the darkness.

As she peeped out of the corner on the way to her living room, a figure in black jacket and black sweatpants without shoes and dripping rainwater was looking around as if considering where to go first.

The sudden surge of adrenaline prompted Cheryl to shout furiously, and in by doing so, startled the unknown person.

The thief tried to run away but Cheryl was already sprinting at full speed and tackled the dark clothed stranger who was trying to climb back on the open window where he gained entry from. The momentum threw them both on the floor and they rolled a few times, and when they stopped Cheryl was atop the thief and has her hands on something soft and squishy.

_Wait… boobs?_

Cheryl’s eyes widened in surprise when she realized what she was grabbing. She quickly pinned down the arms of the person and put her full weight on the thief’s stomach instead. With the aid of her emergency lights, she tried to have a look at the stranger’s face which was hard since she was wearing a face mask.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my house?!”

The thief coughed twice behind the mask, she seemed stunned. “Please don’t call the police.”

“Take off your mask if you don’t want me to hand you to the authorities,” Cheryl said, still wary. “And don’t you dare try to get away.”

The girl shook her head slowly, still kind of groggy. “I won’t.”

“Okay, I’m gonna let go of your left hand,” Cheryl eased her grasp on the girl’s arm. “No sudden movements or I swear I will punch you.”

The girl sluggishly ripped her mask aside and squinted up at Cheryl, probably half-blinded by the harsh emergency lights.

“Please don’t call the police,” she repeated, her voice husky and silent.

Cheryl stared at her for a while, not expecting that pretty face behind the mask framed by a dark brown hair sporting streaks of pink. She also looked intoxicated, not to mention that her breath carried a scent of alcohol. There was a small cut on her forehead which had a bit of blood – she must’ve knocked her head on the floor when Cheryl tackled her.

“Are you trying to rob me?”

The girl coughed again and wheezed, “Before I answer, can you get up? It’s really hard to breath.”

Cheryl reluctantly stood and braced herself in case the thief took off again.

The girl didn’t try to run away though. She just sat up and gasped for air, then rubbed her face with her hands as if to wash away the remains of alcohol in her system.

“I’m sorry, you were really heavy. I’m just-” the girl looked up at her, thought about it for a while, and then just gave up. “I’m sorry, please don’t turn me in.”

Cheryl folded her arms and lifted her brows, trying to look intimidating as heck. And she can look pretty intimidating if she wanted to.

“Were you trying to rob me?”

“No...” the girl replied, carefully choosing her next words. “Not exactly rob you, and I’m not a thief either. It was a stupid bet and I was drunk. Alcohol makes you really dumb. Or dumber, for this matter.”

“I’m sleeping over at my friend,” the stranger continued, and then she probably felt the pain of the cut on her forehead because she raised a hand to touch her tiny wound and she flinched slightly at the contact. “Her house is just across the street.”

“How will I know if whatever you’re saying is true?” Cheryl was still skeptical and she had the right to be. After all, her house was just broken into.

The girl gave her a pleading look. “I can give you my friend’s number and you can call her, I just came here this afternoon. Just please don’t call the police on me. I’m not really a bad person.”

Cheryl gave her a pointed look in return, still not budging from where she was standing. “You broke in my house though.”

“I know, and I’m really sorry. If I did any damage, I can pay for them. Just please, my dad will kill me.”

Cheryl thought for a while, then made a decision.

“Wait here, don’t move. I’ll be back in a second,” she turned and started to walk toward her room but she sent the girl one last glare. “I’m warning you, don’t try to get away.”

The girl shook her head in reply. “I’m not in a hurry to go back out in the rain, also I’m getting this massive headache.”

When Cheryl came back with some stuff including a first-aid kit, the girl was still sitting on the floor, having not moved an inch.

“Come on,” she motioned to the girl. “I don’t want to see you bleeding all over my floor, follow me.”

The girl carefully got to her feet, a little wobbly at first but managed to follow Cheryl to the kitchen which was also lighted up by an emergency light. Cheryl must have installed emergency lights in every corner of her house which proved rather smart especially in this particular situation.

“Sit down,” Cheryl dumped an armful of things on the table and pointed to one of the chairs. “Do you want something to drink?”

The girl sat on the empty chair and rested her arms on the table. “Do you have coffee?”

“In a while, for now take off your jacket, it’s wet,” Cheryl handed her a towel. “Dry off and then put these on.”

The girl’s eyebrow rose doubtfully at the sight of the second thing that Cheryl gave her.

“It’s a handcuff.”

“Yes, it’s a handcuff,” Cheryl turned to her coffeemaker and started pouring in water.

“And it’s pink.”

“I’m glad you’re not colorblind.”

The girl threw her a very skeptical look. “You want me to put these on?”

Cheryl sighed while measuring ground coffee beans. “I still don’t trust you and I don’t have a reason to, but I don’t want to point a knife at you just to make sure that you’re not gonna do anything weird while you’re here, hence the handcuff.”

“Fine,” the girl rolled her eyes but gave in and shed off her jacket, she hung it on the edge of another chair, then grabbed the towel and started drying her hair.

“What’s your name?” Cheryl asked while turning the coffee maker on.

“Toni.”

“I’m Cheryl. Are you just walking around barefooted?”

The girl – Toni – continued to dry her hair rather vigorously. “No, I left my shoes outside of your window. I don’t want to track mud all over the place.”

“Hmmn,” Cheryl glanced at her and raised an amused eyebrow. “That’s very considerate of you.”

Toni gave her a loop-sided grin. “Sorry for breaking in.”

Cheryl shrugged and sat down, then opened the first aid kit. “First time for everything.”

She got out some cotton, a tiny bottle of alcohol, a wound ointment, a bandage, and a pad of painkillers while Toni handcuffed herself.

“Don’t move,” Cheryl took hold of Toni’s chin and closely inspected the cut. It wasn’t much, an inch in length but there was some blood because head wounds can bleed a lot. She poured some alcohol on the cotton and started to clean the wound.

“Are you on the force?” Toni asked, wincing as the cotton touched her skin.

“No, why?”

“Why do you have the handcuffs?” she asked again, then realization hit her like a truck. “Oh... I see. Wow. That’s really interesting.”

Cheryl could feel her whole face burning from embarrassment, her cheeks almost mirrored the color of her hair. “Can we not talk about the cuffs?”

Toni stared at her, the corner of her mouth turned up in a mischievous smirk. “Have you used this before on another person? I mean, since you’re using it on me, I’m very concerned if you’ve washed it-”

“No, I haven’t used it on another person, okay?” Cheryl snapped at her impatiently. “It’s not even mine, so please don’t assume anything.”

Toni shrugged nonchalantly but her eyes were still alive with mischief. “Okayyy.”

“’kay, fine, it’s mine,” Cheryl finally confessed. “But it was a gift and I don’t owe you any explanation.”

“Okay, geez, calm down,” Toni raised both of her hands – which were cuffed – in mock surrender.

There was a minute of silence between them and then, “Ow, that hurts.”

“I said, don’t move,” Cheryl scolded her even though she was aware that she pressed on the wound a little harder than necessary.

“I’m not even moving!”

“You’re fidgeting a lot, stop it,” Cheryl furrowed her brows in concentration as she started to apply some ointment. “Just hold on a second. It’s your fault we’re in this mess.”

“I know, stop rubbing it in,” Toni murmured under her breath.

“What did you say?”

“I said I’m really grateful that you’re very accommodating to strangers,” Toni mumbled quietly.

Cheryl didn’t reply, she leaned in a little closer and gently blew on Toni’s wound to help dry the ointment, then bandaged it up. “You might want to put some scar cream on it after healing. You don’t want looking like Harry Potter with a scar on your forehead.”

“I don’t mind looking like Harry Potter,” Toni commented in response. “But thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Cheryl got up to get some freshly brewed coffee and returned with two steaming mugs.

“Here, get some painkiller for your headache,” she handed the medicine and a glass of water to the wounded one.

“Thanks,” Toni accepted it gratefully and took a tablet.

Cheryl laid her arms on the table and pointedly stared at Toni until the latter was very uncomfortable under her scrutinizing eyes.

“Did your parents ever tell you that staring is rude?”

Cheryl nodded innocently. “Sure, they also told me that trespassing is punishable by law.”

“I told you a hundred times, I’m sorry,” Toni sighed and attempted to make an eye contact and failed, casting her eyes down instead. “I’m not gonna do it again, I swear.”

Cheryl shrugged and then it was her turn to smirk. “Not nearly a hundred times but you’re getting there.”

“Are you teasing me?”

“Of course not,” Cheryl chuckled throatily. “Why would you ever think of that?”

Toni just bit her lower lip and didn’t answer.

Cheryl’s chuckle became a gentle laugh. “Okay, I’m sorry. You’re forgiven, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of the hook. First, you’re going to help me clean my wet floor, then I’ll look around if you damaged anything and I’ll send you the bill. Then I’m gonna take your photo because if ever none of what you said is true, I’m going straight to the authorities and I will sue you.”

Toni stayed silent.

“Am I clear?”

Toni just nodded idly, head still bowed.

“Look at me,” Cheryl hooked her forefinger under Toni’s chin and lifted her face, then leaned close enough to be able to count her eyelashes.

“Am. I. Clear?”

“Yes,” Toni’s warm breath blew gently on her face and it still had a trace of alcohol but now mixed with the scent of coffee.

“Good girl,” Cheryl grinned and patted her arm. “I’ll just get my phone, stay right here.”


	2. Red Pencil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni fled, and Cheryl found her.

Cheryl got up to go to her room and walked quietly, leaving Toni who was still sipping her coffee on the kitchen table with cuffed hands.

It took the red-haired awhile to find her phone – she was pretty sure she left it on her bed but where the hell was it now – and when she came back to the kitchen, the chair where Toni was sitting on previously was now empty, her mug of coffee still warm, her dripping jacket was still hanging off the back of another chair, the cuffs and the girl nowhere to be seen.

Her eyes flicked to the backdoor of the kitchen and she noticed it was ajar. That must be where she escaped – Cheryl thought. She was disappointed to say the least. Not just because Toni took her handcuffs with her, but also because she was hoping that the stranger was being honest.

“Oh well,” Cheryl sighed, walking to the kitchen door to close it. She has no desire to chase after Toni especially since the rain picked up, and if she really wanted to know about who the girl really was, she’d find a way.

She took the still-wet jacket off the chair and inspected it – it was faux leather with an embroidery of a green snake at the back. The pockets were empty, not that she was expecting to find an i.d or something.

“Toni…” she frowned thoughtfully, rolling the name on her tongue. She looked interesting and pretty. Not bad with her taste in perfume as well, Cheryl thought approvingly as she lifted the jacket to her face – the lingering mild scent of the girl still on the fabric.

Cheryl took her phone out and grabbed the jacket then walked to her room where she snapped a picture of the green snake and started searching for the same image on the internet. She has decided to look for the runaway girl because, well partly because of the handcuffs – it has some sentimental value, okay – and mainly because she was intrigued.

Now, she just need to make sure that when she finally finds Toni, the girl wouldn’t be able to run away again.

+

Toni gave a little wave to Betty and Veronica across the room before setting her painting stuff on the floor beside her favored seat. The session today was going to be very exciting because there will be a live model and she’s really looking forward to it.

Their beloved art teacher came to the room and chorus of greetings welcomed him. He smiled as he surveyed his students of varying ages. His graying hair slicked back in a fashionable manner, and he moved with flowing grace as he walked around the room.

“I can see the excitement today is really high,” he said, nodding to several late people who just came in and waited for them to settle before speaking up again. “…and I think I know the reason why.”

Toni saw Veronica nudged Betty who was sitting by her side and the two of them giggled.

They’ve been crushing on the 50-ish art teacher ever since they’ve enrolled in the art class, and Toni couldn’t really blame them. The teacher was tall and has very fine chiseled features, he has a slender body and whatever he wore suited him well. He was soft-spoken and very encouraging, he’s also gay, but that fact didn’t discourage his students to have a crush on him.

“As I’ve told you all last week, we are going to sketch a live model in this particular lovely afternoon,” the teacher said, standing at the small circular platform in the middle of the room and gazed around at them. “…but if you want to paint our model after seeing her today, you can enroll in the advance class,” he added teasingly, earning a groan from most of the students.

“Wait, our model is female?” Veronica was distracted enough from staring at the teacher to voice out her question.

The teacher nodded. “Yes…”

“No male abs today?” Betty seconded, brow arched high.

The only man in the room chuckled softly.

“I’m sorry but no. Let’s just say that I don’t want my students to spend our 2-hour session gawking at some bare Apollo body and not make any progress at all.”

The females in the room made a groaning sound again, clearly disappointed. Toni just smiled to herself, she knew that the art teacher was somehow right. Most of them in class were young adults and the man was just reasonable enough not to use a naked guy as their first live model.

“So…” the teacher clasped his hands, his mannerism whenever he’s about the start the class. “Please take out your drawing pads and get ready,” he glanced down at his wristwatch. “We will start in 10 minutes.”

There was a general mild chaos in the room as the students scrambled to get ready, tucking away cellphones and gadgets. The majority as well as Toni took canvasses on easels and fitted their drawing papers on it. Veronica selected several pencils from her bag while Betty did her warm-up stretch in the corner of the room.

Toni was too busy adjusting her easel when the model walked in and was greeted by the teacher. She only looked up when the teacher introduced the newly-arrived object of their art today.

“Class,” the teacher clapped his hands twice, commanding their attention. “Let me introduce Cheryl, she’s going to be our model today so please be nice to her.”

The epitome of perfection smiled her dazzling smile as she walked to the center of the room and started unzipping her jacket. The faux leather jacket with a green snake at the back.

Toni’s jaw dropped as the familiar face – _and that jacket!_ – registered in her brain, she quickly looked at Betty and Veronica’s direction and she could see that her two friends were sharing her surprise.

The night when they dared her to break into the house across the street from Veronica’s house, the three of them were having a sleepover – except that they bought more than enough bottle of liquors and drank all of them. She didn’t really mean to trick Cheryl, she was just scared that the red-haired might actually turn her to the authorities.

The teacher cleared his throat and the sound prompted Toni out of her thoughts. She watched as he gave a tall stool to Cheryl, who was now just down to a dark fitting tank top and cut-off shorts, emphasizing her figure. Her glossy red hair cascading down her back.

“If you are all done with appreciating the beauty in front of you, you can start sketching now,” the teacher winked, obviously enjoying their awed expressions.

Cheryl chuckled quietly, setting the stool in the center of the platform and casually sat on it, facing towards Toni.

As the other students started to do their work, Toni didn’t know what to do. Her hands were trembling and clammy, she kept muttering a curse under her breath. She could feel her face heating up. She couldn’t look up and meet the blank stare of the model in front of her.

_Life, why are you so cruel._

Her phone beeped, thanks god. She needed the distraction or else she would pretty much faint from nerves. The text came from Veronica.

“ _Wow, the girl who owns the house and hand-cuffed you is also a model?_ ” this one was clearly teasing.

Another text came in, this time from Betty, “ _I think she figured out who you are. Be careful. Also, you look soooo red. Are you blushing?_ ”

She glared at the direction of her friends. They were holding their phones and snickering, apparently her misery was their entertainment.

“Toni, are you feeling okay?” the teacher came around and noticed that she hasn’t done anything yet.

“Yes sir, I’m just-” she muttered a curse again as her phone clattered on the floor, her palms were slippery. “I’m sorry,” Toni mentally slapped herself for being so clumsy as she picked the phone up.

“Take your time,” but the teacher frowned slightly when he saw her face. “You look agitated, are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m okay, sir,” Toni nodded as she heaved a deep sigh. “I’m going to start now,” she picked up a pencil.

“Interesting choice of color today,” the teacher’s voice was clipped with amusement, standing behind her.

Toni stared on her hand holding the pencil, the sketching tool was red. Red, not black or even gray. Crap, why was her brain not working?

She hurriedly put down the red pencil and reached for the black one, but her hand slipped and her pencil holder fell to the floor, scattering the contents everywhere.

“Shit, shit, shit,” she whispered as she quickly got on her knees and chased the rolling pieces of wood. She could see Betty and Veronica in her peripheral vision shaking with silent laughter on their seats.

“Toni, you are clearly not okay, would you like to step out for a minute?” the teacher’s eyes were now full of concern as he helped her fill the pencil holder.

Toni sighed deeply again as she stood up, resolved to get her shit together and do her art properly. This ridiculous turn of circumstances was not getting in the way of her passion for art.

“I’m really fine, sir. Thank you,” she said in a more steady voice, she went back to her seat and exhaled slowly, forcing to calm herself.

As Toni looked up to Cheryl to start her work, the then bland expression of the model has now a shadow of smile in it. The brown eyes’ line of vision changed a bit and their sights met for a second. Toni wondered if it was just imagination or did Cheryl’s small smile grew a bit wider?

She bit her lower lip guiltily and looked back down on her canvass and started the outline of the model’s head. She had been praying and hoping not to meet Cheryl again since the night she broke in her house and now here she is, practically a statue for 2 hours.

Two freakin hours. In front of her. The personification of beauty. With figure-hugging small pieces of clothing. Those expressive eyes that will probably take her months to paint perfectly. That hair. That smile. Those lips…

Shit, she was losing her mind.

7 billion people in the world and the art teacher had to choose her.

_Life, why you are so cruel._

But oh my god, Toni’s brain was flooding with anxious thoughts, what if she tells the teacher that I broke in her house and ran away and what if I get kicked out of the class?

_Why did I have to take that stupid bet?_

She took peek over her easel and stole a glimpse of the live model who was stone-faced and looking over head. Her skin looks really good, Toni thought as she busied herself with her pencil and sketchpad. Might as well do her best art before Cheryl take her to the police after this class.

Minutes passed, and her heart was still pounding. But now at least her hand was steady enough to produce a passable drawing. The teacher walked around, examining their works and occasionally giving a commentary, when he passed behind Toni he glanced down on his watch.

“Five more minutes and we will take a break,” he told the students and then smiled at Cheryl. “We also need to let our model rest for a while, it’s not easy to just sit still and be pretty, right Cheryl?”

The corner of the model’s lips turned up in half-smile but she didn’t say anything. Meanwhile, Toni was already planning on how to escape from the class, maybe fake her own death, change identity, and how to leave the country incognito.

+

“We have to talk,” Toni hissed loudly as she grabbed Veronica’s arm and squeezed it hard enough for her friend to wince in protest. She practically ran out of the room as the teacher announced the ten-minute break, she didn’t even glance back to check if Cheryl was chasing after her.

“Yeah,” Betty nodded as she sipped from her water bottle. “I didn’t expect this to happen. What are the odds, right?”

“The odds of me getting thrown in jail? It’s pretty high right now,” Toni nervously glanced around the hallway just outside of the art room and searched for Cheryl, when she didn’t find the girl she looked back to her friends. “You have to help me, I don’t want to go to prison.”

“Relax,” Veronica pried Toni’s fingers from her arm and gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m sure she’s not gonna turn you in. You didn’t steal anything and we could prove that what you did was just a dare, we have the _videos_.”

“It was still breaking and entering, though,” Betty quietly pointed out, but she quickly grinned encouragingly when Toni’s face grew worried again. “But yes, Ronnie’s right, we will give testaments and proofs if the situation goes that far.”

“Or we could just talk to the girl,” Veronica suggested.

_And well, speaking of…_

“Hi, Toni,” a voice said behind them.

Toni almost jumped up and very nearly swallowed her tongue. _Oh god oh god oh god._

“Ummm, h-hi,” she forced a smile when she turned around and acknowledged Cheryl’s intimidating presence. The jacket was casually hanging on her shoulders as if it already adopted her as the new owner.

“Nice to see you again,” Cheryl’s eyes turned to the other two girls standing a step behind Toni’s back.

“Hi, I’m Veronica,” Ronnie inserted herself between them and offered her hand. “We’re neighbors. I’m Toni’s friend, and this is Betty.”

Cheryl took her hand and smiled pleasantly, nodding to Betty who also smiled in return.

“Nice to meet you,” the red-haired said, then her sight drifted back to Toni, her expression was cryptic. “Can you give us a minute? I’d like to have a chat with Toni, if it’s okay.”

“Sure,” Veronica slipped her arm around Betty’s and almost dragged her back to the art class. “Just scream really loud if you need rescuing,” she whispered in Toni’s ear before they walked off.

“So,” Cheryl drawled while slowly gazing up from Toni’s feet to her face, inch by inch. “Where’s my handcuff?”


End file.
